LESSON 2: HOW WORLD RELIGIONS BEGAN

= THE GEOGRAPHIC, CULTURAL, AND SOCIAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCED THE DEVELOPMENT OF
RELIGIONS =
 Religions are practiced differently in various parts of the world. They are significant for many people
because they establish different lifestyles among their believers.
 Cultural Diversity played a great part in shaping religions. In the Neolithic era, precolonial Filipinos
expressed their religion through artistic means. In Egypt, there are religious writings called the
“Pyramid texts.”
 Social factors also help shape individuals’ beliefs, lifestyles, and personalities: Pope John Paul II and
Mother Teresa are considered among the most influential personalities of the Catholic Church. Martin
Luther, with his reformations, has changed people’s views and ideas of Christianity.
 Subject to Geographic location, the religion practiced in an area continues to evolve depending on the
country’s resources, which shows how geography can affect the emergence of a belief system.
Geographer Ellen Semple writes that a religion’s iconography takes significant influence from the place
of its birth.

= DEVELOPMENT OF EARLY RELIGIOUS BELIEFS =

THE EMERGENGE OF CIVILIZATION
 The Nile Rivers in Egypt, the Indus Valley in India, and the Yellow River basin in China are the sites
where early civilizations established towns, erected massive structures, developed stratified societies,
and created systems of writings.
 These developments occurred during the Bronze Age, a period characterized by the increased
production and use of bronze tools and weapons. The following are some of the civilizations that
flourished during the Bronze Age.
1. MESOPOTAMIA – The oldest Mesopotamian cities were founded around 3000 BCE by the Sumerians.
Their religion was not only polytheist, but also henotheistic, meaning certain gods were viewed as
superior to others. According to J Bottero, gods were not viewed mystically. They were rather seen as
high masters who were to be obeyed and feared.
2. EGYPT – Irrigated by the Nile River and sheltered by deserts as well as the sea, Egyptian civilization
remained more protected and peaceful than that of Mesopotamia. The Pharaohs governed the lives
and wealth of the populace and were considered gods by their subjects. The history of Egypt is divided
into three main periods: the Old Kingdom (2700-2200 BCE), the Middle Kingdom (2052-1786 BCE),
and the New Kingdom (1575-1087 BCE).
3. INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION – At about 2300 BCE, approximately seventy Indus cities had
developed a sophisticated urban culture, the major cities being HARAPPA and MOHENJO-DARO. The
population was governed by a stable, well-organized government led by a ruling class who had much
concern for cleanliness, order, and stability. Each house in the Indus valley village had a bathing room
with drains. There were also several public bathing areas in every town.
4. CHINA – The Shang Dynasty (1766-1050 BCE) established the first recognized Bronze Age civilization
along the Yellow River Basin in China. Local tribes had basic, animistic worldviews, the society became
more sophisticated, people’s belief system also further developed and became more complex and
organized.
5. THE AMERICANS – The prominent societies in the Americas arose in areas that had robust
agriculture. The Andes Valleys contributed a mixture of agriculture and the rich marine resources from
the Pacific. In 1500 BCE, the OLMECs founded the first civilization in Mesoamerica.

= THE DISTRIBUTION AND SPREAD OF RELIGIONS =

 The nature of a religion greatly affects the geographic distribution of its adherents around the world.
Park (2004) distinguishes between two types of religions based on geographic distribution.
1. UNIVERSAL RELIGIONS – are those that are widely distributed, and whose goal is to convert
people.
2. ETHNIC RELIGIONS – are confined to particular countries or regions.
 Accompanying this spread and dispersion is the influence of local cultures. This malleability, rather
than rigid adherence to doctrine, may actually be helpful in gaining new followers.
 The ability to adapt to local cultures is key to the survival and growth of universal religions.

= RELIGION, CULTURE, AND SOCIETY =

 CULTURE, according to de Leon (2012), is a system of vital ideas that contain, energize and direct
virtually every aspect of social life and a person’s relationship with the world.
 UNESCO defines CULTURE as “the whole complex of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and
emotional features that characterize a society or social group.”
 Religion, Culture, and Society are closely related. Religion defines aspects of culture and society and
distinguishes one group of people from another.